Abstract:

The psychological bases of abortion attitudes were examined using a combination of descriptive variables and projective measures. Subjects (n=80) were students at a small liberal arts college who completed a questionnaire consisting of demographic information, the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), items from the Kalin Sex-Role Inventory, a verbal adaptation of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), and a series of questions regarding sexual history and attitudes toward abortion. Attitudes toward abortion were found to be related to sex and gender conservatism. There was a link between a subject's view on abortion and the object relational dimension of subjectivity, recognition, and differentiation. Relationships were also found between abortion attitudes and religiosity, and the issues that motivate attitude formation. The findings support the value of research that combines descriptive and psychoanalytic variables in order to probe the depth and complexity of attitudes toward abortion.